1971–72 Newport County A.F.C. season
# 1971–72 Newport County A.F.C. season

The 1971–72 season was Newport County's tenth consecutive season in the Football League Fourth Division since relegation at the end of the 1961–62 season and their 44th overall in the Football League.

## Season review

County briefly wore tangerine and black striped shorts in February 1972 before fan reaction caused the club to revert to black shorts soon after.

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 46 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 60 | 72 | 0.833 | 44 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 34 | 20 | 31 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 26 | 52 | 13 |

Source: rsssf.com

### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A |
| Result | L | D | L | W | D | L | L | D | L | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | L | L | W | D | W | L | L | W | L | L | L | W | D | L | L | W | L | D | L | L | W | D | W | L | W | W | W | D | W | W |
| Position | 16 | 19 | 22 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 14 |

## Fixtures and results

### Fourth Division

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 14 Aug 1971 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 2–4 | Coldrick, Thomas | 4,797 |
| 21 Aug 1971 | Peterborough United | H | 1–1 | R.Jones | 3,963 |
| 28 Aug 1971 | Lincoln City | A | 1–3 | Brown | 5,265 |
| 31 Aug 1971 | Colchester United | H | 2–1 | Sprague, Brown | 4,168 |
| 4 Sep 1971 | Northampton Town | H | 1–1 | Thomas | 4,300 |
| 10 Sep 1971 | Southport | A | 2–4 | Young, Brown | 4,206 |
| 18 Sep 1971 | Aldershot | H | 2–3 | White, Aizlewood | 3,380 |
| 25 Sep 1971 | Darlington | A | 0–0 | | 2,254 |
| 27 Sep 1971 | Southend United | A | 1–3 | White | 7,145 |
| 2 Oct 1971 | Bury | H | 2–1 | Thomas, Young | 2,995 |
| 9 Oct 1971 | Hartlepool | A | 1–0 | White | 2,990 |
| 16 Oct 1971 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 1–3 | Brown | 2,770 |
| 23 Oct 1971 | Gillingham | A | 2–1 | Brown, Coldrick | 5,817 |
| 30 Oct 1971 | Cambridge United | H | 3–0 | Thomas 2, Williams | 3,824 |
| 6 Nov 1971 | Brentford | A | 1–3 | Thomas | 10,480 |
| 13 Nov 1971 | Barrow | H | 2–1 | Brown 2 | 3,443 |
| 27 Nov 1971 | Workington | H | 0–1 | | 2,918 |
| 4 Dec 1971 | Reading | A | 2–4 | D.Jones, Young | 3,680 |
| 11 Dec 1971 | Lincoln City | H | 2–0 | Brown 2 | 2,987 |
| 18 Dec 1971 | Northampton Town | A | 1–1 | Hooper | 4,151 |
| 27 Dec 1971 | Chester | H | 1–0 | Thomas | 7,664 |
| 1 Jan 1972 | Aldershot | A | 0–3 | | 3,120 |
| 15 Jan 1972 | Grimsby Town | A | 2–4 | D.Jones | 8,112 |
| 22 Jan 1972 | Southend United | H | 2–0 | Hill, Thomas | 3,535 |
| 29 Jan 1972 | Scunthorpe United | A | 0–1 | | 4,580 |
| 5 Feb 1972 | Exeter City | A | 0–1 | | 3,732 |
| 12 Feb 1972 | Gillingham | H | 1–2 | D.Jones | 3,143 |
| 19 Feb 1972 | Cambridge United | A | 1–0 | D.Jones | 4,618 |
| 26 Feb 1972 | Brentford | H | 0–0 | | 3,271 |
| 4 Mar 1972 | Barrow | A | 0–1 | | 2,196 |
| 10 Mar 1972 | Hartlepool | H | 0–2 | | 3,170 |
| 13 Mar 1972 | Grimsby Town | H | 2–1 | White, R.Jones | 2,870 |
| 18 Mar 1972 | Peterborough United | A | 1–3 | Hill | 4,028 |
| 24 Mar 1972 | Southport | H | 2–2 | Brown, D.Jones | 2,699 |
| 31 Mar 1972 | Bury | A | 0–3 | | 5,719 |
| 1 Apr 1972 | Chester | A | 0–3 | | 2,563 |
| 4 Apr 1972 | Darlington | H | 4–0 | Thomas 2, White, Young | 3,196 |
| 8 Apr 1972 | Exeter City | H | 0–0 | | 2,363 |
| 11 Apr 1972 | Stockport County | H | 1–0 | Hill | 3,359 |
| 15 Apr 1972 | Workington | A | 0–3 | | 1,342 |
| 18 Apr 1972 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 2–0 | Thomas, White | 2,958 |
| 22 Apr 1972 | Reading | H | 2–1 | R.Jones, Hill | 3,065 |
| 24 Apr 1972 | Colchester United | A | 3–2 | Brown, Hill, R.Jones | 4,311 |
| 28 Apr 1972 | Stockport County | A | 4–4 | D.Jones, 2, R.Jones, OG | 1,824 |
| 1 May 1972 | Scunthorpe United | H | 1–0 | Hill | 3,686 |
| 3 May 1972 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 2–1 | R.Jones | 1,028 |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 20 Nov 1971 | Notts County | A | 0–6 | | 11,976 |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 17 Aug 1971 | Torquay United | H | 1–2 | R.Jones | 4,316 |

### Welsh Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 | 8 Jan 1972 | Ebbw Vale | H | 3–1 | Thomas, Brown, Hooper | 1,420 |
| 6 | 8 Feb 1972 | Bangor City | A | 2–1 | Brown, D.Jones | 2,609 |
| SF | 22 Mar 1972 | Wrexham | A | 0–2 | | 3,869 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Derby County (C) | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 69 | 33 | 2.091 | 58 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Leeds United | 42 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 73 | 31 | 2.355 | 57 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 3 | Liverpool | 42 | 24 | 9 | 9 | 64 | 30 | 2.133 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Manchester City | 42 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 77 | 45 | 1.711 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Arsenal | 42 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 58 | 40 | 1.450 | 52 | |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 63 | 42 | 1.500 | 51 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Chelsea | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 58 | 49 | 1.184 | 48 | |
| 8 | Manchester United | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 69 | 61 | 1.131 | 48 | |
| 9 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 65 | 57 | 1.140 | 47 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 10 | Sheffield United | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 61 | 60 | 1.017 | 46 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 11 | Newcastle United | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 49 | 52 | 0.942 | 41 | |
| 12 | Leicester City | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 41 | 46 | 0.891 | 39 | |
| 13 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 39 | 53 | 0.736 | 38 | |
| 14 | West Ham United | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 47 | 51 | 0.922 | 36 | |
| 15 | Everton | 42 | 9 | 18 | 15 | 37 | 48 | 0.771 | 36 | |
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 42 | 54 | 0.778 | 35 | |
| 17 | Stoke City | 42 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 39 | 56 | 0.696 | 35 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 18 | Coventry City | 42 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 44 | 67 | 0.657 | 33 | |
| 19 | Southampton | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 52 | 80 | 0.650 | 31 | |
| 20 | Crystal Palace | 42 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 39 | 65 | 0.600 | 29 | |
| 21 | Nottingham Forest (R) | 42 | 8 | 9 | 25 | 47 | 81 | 0.580 | 25 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Huddersfield Town (R) | 42 | 6 | 13 | 23 | 27 | 59 | 0.458 | 25 | Relegation to the Second Division |

* ↑ Leeds United qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1971-72 FA Cup winners.
* ↑ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup as the 1971-72 UEFA Cup winners.
* ↑ Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United qualified for the Watney Cup as the two teams with the most goals that hadn't already qualified for a European competition.

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 12 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 56 | 63 | 0.889 | 46 |
| 13 | Gillingham | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 61 | 67 | 0.910 | 45 |
| 14 | Newport County | 46 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 60 | 72 | 0.833 | 44 |
| 15 | Exeter City | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 61 | 68 | 0.897 | 43 |
| 16 | Reading | 46 | 17 | 8 | 21 | 56 | 76 | 0.737 | 42 |
